Litmus Name

Justin was in his sophomore year in college, pulling a double major in chemistry and baseballogy. For his final research paper for the year, he needed to visit the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The reason for the trip was that, during his preliminary research of hall inductees, he had come across a baseball player whose name had a certain chemical property. Justin decided that he needed to test a theory. Armed with litmus paper, he went to Cooperstown. He toured the site until he came to that player's kiosk. Justin took out his litmus paper and placed it on the player's name. In great anticipation, he waited for the paper to turn blue. To his disappointment, the paper did not change color. Upon returning to campus, Justin decided that his double major was worthless. He immediately dropped chemistry and concentrated all of his efforts into becoming the world's preeminent baseballogist.

What Hall of Fame baseball player has a name that Justin thought would turn the litmus paper blue?

Answer

The player is Al Kaline, whose first and last names spell "alkaline".

The key clue is the use of litmus paper, which is used to determine if a substance is an acid or an alkali (base). Justin expected the paper to turn blue, which would indicate an alkaline substance.

Al Kaline played for the Detroit Tigers from 1953 through 1974, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.Hide